What vitamins should adults take?

A:

Quick Answer

Adults require a healthy dose of Vitamin A, B6, B12, C, D, E, folic acid, iron, potassium, calcium and a variety of other vitamins and minerals. However, both Mayo Clinic and WebMD recommend not taking vitamin supplements. Mayo Clinic suggests that adults focus on eating a healthy diet with all of the required vitamins naturally found in food instead of taking supplements.

Keep Learning

Vitamins can help the body with healing, maintaining energy, improving muscle function and strengthening bones. The safest way to get the vitamins is through finding foods that contain each one, as it is the most natural way for the body to process them. When adults eat proper diets, vitamin supplements can actually lead to overdoses in specific vitamins which are readily available in fortified foods,.

A doctor can test the levels of vitamins in a person's system and then suggest which vitamins are deficient and which supplements are necessary. While a multivitamin is a good rounded source of vitamins, most individuals only require a supplement with one or two of all the vitamins within the multivitamin. It's better to take the specific vitamin needed rather than to get an excess of vitamins and risk an overdose.